The signatories to
the open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper—which include top
constitutional, criminal, and public law experts—assert that Bill C-36,
the Protection Of Communities and Exploited Persons Act, will reproduce the harms caused by the prostitution laws that were struck down by the Supreme Court of Canada in Bedford v. Canada. The letter states that the criminal laws proposed by Bill C-36 are likely to violate the Charter rights of sex workers, who will face increased risk of violence as a result of the new law.

The
open letter was released on the first day of hearings by the House of
Commons’ Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, which is
studying the proposed legislation.

The
letter examines three key aspects of Bill C-36—the prohibitions on
purchasing sex, public communication and advertising—and says these
prohibitions will recreate the violent and harmful conditions that
caused the SCC to strike down three of Canada’s major prostitution laws.

“These
laws were found to create and exacerbate dangerous conditions and
prevent sex workers from taking action to reduce or mitigate the risks
they face,” the letter states. “We are concerned that, for the very same
reasons that caused the Court to strike down these prostitution laws,
the criminal regime proposed by Bill C-36 is likely to offend the Charter as well.”

The
proposed legislation targets clients through the prohibition on
purchasing sex and makes it an offence for sex workers to communicate in
almost all public places. According to the letter, this creates a
situation where sex workers and clients take steps to avoid police
detection, which means they are displaced to isolated, dangerous areas
and sex workers have less time to screen clients before getting into
vehicles.

“Minister
MacKay has expressed his view that criminalizing clients will protect
sex workers, but this approach will, in fact, have devastating
consequences on sex workers’ safety,” says Elin Sigurdson, a
Vancouver-based lawyer who has worked for more than a decade on sex
workers’ rights in Canada and will be making submissions before the
Justice Committee. “The evidence from Canada and from around the world
has made it clear that approach creates the conditions for violence,
abuse, and human rights violations to occur by driving the sex industry
underground where sex workers have little control over the conditions of
their work.”

In
addition to criminalizing clients of sex workers, Bill C-36 also
proposes prohibitions on advertising sexual services, a provision that
will restrict sex workers’ ability to work safely indoors.

“The
ban on advertising will make working indoors very difficult, if not
impossible, because sex workers will not be able to market their
services.” said Sandra Ka Hon Chu, a Toronto lawyer and co-director of
research and advocacy with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. “The
Supreme Court of Canada was very clear that that the bawdy house law,
which had the same effect of depriving sex workers of access to safer
indoor work environments, violated their fundamental constitutional
rights. In this regard, I believe that the advertising restriction
offends sex workers’ right to security of the person.”

A
copy of the letter and list of signatories has been sent to the Prime
Minister and provided to all members of the Justice Committee. It is
also available here.

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About Pivot Legal Society

Pivot
Legal Society is a leading Canadian human rights organization that uses
the law to address the root causes of poverty and social exclusion in
Canada. Pivot’s award winning work includes challenging laws and
policies that force people to the margins of society and keep them
there. Since 2002 Pivot has won major victories for sex workers’ rights,
police accountability, affordable housing, and health and drug policy.

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